Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Mango Time

It is very warm and still here today and the humidity has been slowly building over the last couple of weeks towards our wet season ... but it also means our mangoes are nearly ready to pick ... that is if those pesky flying foxes leave some for us !


We've had a pretty good crop set this year and their beautiful pink blush just makes your mouth water. I enjoyed a successful Christmas Treasures on line show last weekend, with 2 teds off to the US and the other two here in Aus.  Daphne Blau of Teddies Worldwide did a great job in presenting this show and it was a real pleasure to take part in it!  The Sydney Teddy Bear Fair in   March 2012 is the next date on my calender and I've already got some plans and work in progress for that.  My work space was in such a shamozzle after last minute finishing for the Treasures show that I had to spend a day getting things back in some sort of order.  The doggies love keeping me company there and can generally be found all asleep under my sewing desk so they were quite surprised by all the cleaning up.  As I type our resident Green Tree Frogs have started to call so it must be going to rain again soon ... last night they were so loud we couldn't hear the news on the telly!  In a couple of weeks some of our family are heading south for Christmas, so we are having our Christmas get together before they go ... which means I better get busy with Christmas fare pronto!!!
                                                         
Cheers for now and happy bearing, Robyn.



Sunday, November 6, 2011

Christmas Treasures Preview

As the saying goes 'time flies when your having fun' which is just what I've been doing while getting ready for this online show ! 

Merri
 Merri is my Christmas Treasures preview bear and she's wearing a two tone red hand dyed mohair suit and Santa hat in readiness for the festive season, so pop over to www.teddiesworldwide.com where you can view all the fantastic preview bears and vote for your favourite too from each category!
  The show opens on 18th November 4pm New York time with 75 artists from around the world participating and is definitely something special to look forward to!


Sunday, September 11, 2011

Beautiful and Busy Days

Just realised there has been a long gap between posts here! Bears, garden and family things have been keeping me pretty busy.

We've had a glorious couple of months weather wise and typically dry for this time of year, so it's all hands on deck in the garden getting things in order before the start of our wet season. Lots of mulching, plant feeding, pruning and so on, the things we can't do in the wet.

I don't put food out for the wild birds but I do make sure there is plenty of water for them, especially now in the dry, and so we have five bird baths in various spots around our two acre garden.

It's such a pleasure to see the birds these baths attract and late in the afternoon just last week, we counted 10 different bird species enjoying themselves, either in the Grevilleas for nectar, or having a drink and a freshen up in a bird bath.


There have been some unusual bird sightings too of late and one that is not usually found here is the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo. They are fascinating birds to watch and there has been a big mob of them hanging around the Cairns district for a few months now.
Of course our resident Sulphur-Crested White Cockatoos are totally put out by these beautiful black interlopers and let them know in no uncertain terms, dive bombing them as a last resort to get them to move on! The Black Cockatoos are not fazed by this, they are real laid back bushies and take their time, much to the white cockies disgust!

However it hasn't been all birds and garden, I have been working on three new bear designs, one of which is a sweet little panda, and also getting ready for my next bear show, now only SEVEN days away! Eeeek!

I'll be travelling down south next weekend forThe Brisbane Bear Fair which will be held next Sunday 18th September between 10am and 4pm at the Holiday Inn , Roma Street, Brisbane.

This will be the first Brisbane Bear Fair organised by Melissa Kemp of Bear Fairs Australia, so looking forward to a successful event that hopefully becomes a regular date on our bear calender here in Queensland.



And here are a couple of teds that will be coming along to the show with me,as you can see they are still bare bears, but not for long though as they are both a work in progress!

I'm looking forward to catching up with my bear friends at the show !


 
Last but not least we are thinking of our American friends today and remembering.

Beary best wishes,
                    Robyn.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Happy Days

My grand daughters are in the middle of a two week school holiday break, so it has been good to spend some time with them and catch up. Early last Friday morning we set off to Rusty's Markets, this is an icon in Cairns CBD, which sells beautiful fresh local fruit, veg., produce, and all manner of things from Friday through to Sunday. We like to get our supplies there as opposed to the supermarket so it's a weekly pleasure to go and shop.


After Rusty's we headed off to visit HMB Endeavour which is a replica of Captain James Cook's iconic ship of discovery.  Endeavour is making it's first circumnavigation around Australia and is currently visiting Cairns.  We had a fascinating time exploring the ship and we were amazed how small it is considering it accommodated a total of 94 sailors, not to mention sheep, pigs and poultry as well !!




Then off to find a yummy late lunch on the Cairns Pier, a lovely end to the day.

The Gold Coast Teddy Bear Fair I attended 3 weeks ago was a very happy event even though we had unusual cool and rainy weather for the first day.  For some reason the photos I took have not come up clear enough for me to post but Kympatti will be posting photo's of the event soon.  I'm also happy to report two adoptions this last week that were a direct result of the show, so that was a nice post-script.
During the week following the show I attended two workshops held in the Kympatti Studio at Broadbeach. The first was a terrific one day felting workshop with Geri Williams, entitled a Bunny in a Shoe ! and the second a two day workshop  with Linda Benson.  This was a wonderful workshop creating Linda's 'Gregore' who has open mouth, with tongue, open shut eyes, leather nose and leather trapunto paws detail, as well as extra neck and wrist joints. 'Gregore' kept us very busy indeed but Linda, in her inimitable easy going style, created a calm and very happy atmosphere.  Needless to say I haven't finished my pieces but as soon as I do I will show you here.

The girls are off in a swimming camp today, the weather is just right for that sort of thing here at the moment.  We'll have a couple of days to do things together at the end of this week, then its back to school for them.  
Wishing you a beary good week,
Robyn.   

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Don't miss out

Linda Benson is having a giveaway !  So don't miss out,  visit Linda's blog and name this cute little fellow to be in with a chance. 



What a cutey !

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Almost Ready


My bags are almost packed and ready to fly south early tomorrow morning, heading for Brisbane and then on to the Gold Coast to attend the Gold Coast International Teddy Bear Fair.  The show starts on Saturday 11th and continues to Sunday12th, from 10am to 4pm both days.  I'm really looking forward to seeing all my 'bear friends' there and catching up in person, we were away in the UK last year so I missed attending the show.  I love a 'hands on' show, as I'm sure collectors do too, and the Gold Coast International always has a happy and friendly atmosphere.  I have 12 orphan Teds for the show, that's about all I can fit into my baggage allowance, so fingers crossed they find new homes.

By the way this is HBT (Hand-Bag-Ted) or HB for short ! He is the first small ted I made back in 1998 and he has lived in my hand bag ever since. HB reckons he loves it there 'cause he gets to travel around and he's managed to go to Africa, UK and Paris too, in his bag house. He's looking forward to the Gold Coast but he's definitely no orphan, after all he'll be at home in the bag !





And this is Blue Bobby who will be at the show and looking for a new home !  Beary good wishes to you for a happy weekend coming up, I'll be sure to post pics when I get back home. 
Hugs for now, Robyn.



Monday, June 6, 2011

WOW News



I'm very happy and honoured to let you know that my Ms.Musky-Roo has won the 2011 Australian Creative Design Award for High Achievement in Design and Workmanship Excellence. The theme this year was to celebrate Beatrix Potter and I tried to find an Australian character but in the Potter spirit .... this tiny tropical Kangaroo who lives in the rain forest ... a bit rat like but definitely a roo with a pouch, was the perfect candidate for me to imagine through Ms. Potters eyes !  I'm very proud to receive this award and appreciate it is a result of hands-on-judging ... with many thanks to Sandi Smith for creating and setting the high standards for these challenging awards.!  Congratulations to Linda Down (Lombard Bears) and Ruth Bowman (Flutter-By-Bears and Friends) and Ina Smirnova (Bears and Roses) for their awards, and to all the participants !

And to finish off, looking forward to next years 2012 ACD awards entitled Under the Big Top, it's bound to be  fabulous, click on the banner below to find out more !


Thursday, June 2, 2011

Stepping out



I have been repairing and cleaning this charming old leather baby boot in readiness for a Geri Williams workshop being held at the Kympatti Studio  Broadbeach on the Gold Coast the week following The Gold Coast International Teddy Bear Fair on 11th and 12th June.  I've been sewing madly in preparation for the show, which is always a lot of fun but so are the workshops held over the week after the show.  Geri's workshop is about creating a felted rabbit or bear who lives in a shoe and I'll be sure to post a photo of my efforts here when I get back home.
 Time is running out for voting on The Peoples Choice Award in the Australian Creative Design Awards, so do hop over if you haven't already done so and vote for your favourite piece just click on the bunny below.




Beary best wishes, Robyn.



Saturday, May 28, 2011

Don't forget to Vote!!


Click on the bunny to vote and find out more about this special online show !

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Happy News

I'm very very happy and honoured to be able to announce that my entry was one of ten nominated for hands on judging in this years Australasian Creative Design Awards and the theme for this years awards were 'Celebrating Beatrix Potter'.
Although, like so many, I'm ever-so-fond of  Beatrix Potters wonderful characters and their stories I had decided from the out set to try and create an Australian character but in the Potter spirit. 

As we live in Tropical North Queensland the rainforest was a good place to investigate and low and behold I discovered there lives a diminutive little creature known as The Musky Rat Kangaroo.

This little mammal is the smallest and most primitive kangaroo in the world and has several features that reflect lifestyle and body form of their tree-dwelling ancestors. Most kangaroos are active at dawn and dusk, resting during the day, however Musky Rat Kangaroos are only active during daylight.  At night they retire to a nest made from leafy twigs which they gather and transport in their short prehensile tails.  Rain forest fruits are their favourite food.  In good times these seeds and fruit are often scatter- hoarded or buried haphazardly, then later dug up and eaten. Of course not all seeds are recovered by the Musky so this actually aids in seed dispersal and contributes to maintenance of the rain forest ecosystem. 

Musky Rat Kangaroos are unique in the kangaroo world because they give birth to twins and sometimes triplets, the young joeys spend about 21 weeks in the pouch after which they are evicted and spend more time in the nest where they are suckled by their mother when she returns from foraging.  Musky Rat Kangaroos are only found in large remnant patches of tropical rainforest, and today their populations are believed to be vulnerable but secure.  They have a distinct musky scent and go about their business on the rainforest floor gathering fruit and seed that lie among the leaf litter.

So I imagined my Ms.Musky-Roo dashing about, very busy indeed, wearing her best hat of course, and dashing back to all those children with a large basket full of favourite rainforest fruits.
Ms.Musky-Roo is 9 1/2" (24cm) tall (a true life size).  I hope you like her, I had a lot of fun.

Ms. Musky-Roo

All the entries are now available for you to view and to vote for your favourite in the Peoples Photographic Choice, voting continues until June 1st,  so please visit here to vote and see a wonderful collection of work.  All the entries will be available for purchase from June 1st and winners of the hands on judging will be announced on June 5th.

The Australasian Creative Design Awards always offer a wonderful challenge for artists.  Many thanks and congratulations must go to Sandi Smith for creating these awards and her diligent care in ensuring their integrity.

Congratulations to everyone,

And a thank you to Martin Cohen and Julia Cooper for their great little book Rainforest Animals (Created, published and printed in Cairns)

Beary happy hugs,

Robyn.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Friends hop in for a snack

These young wallabies hopped into our front garden this morning for a bit of a snack.  After all our wet weather over this last rainy season our trees and shrubs in the front garden have just gone wild and so are providing good camouflage and habitat for all sorts ! 


 And speaking of All Sorts I've got my dye pots out and planning some colourful sessions for some petite bears heading off to The Gold Coast International Teddy Bear Fair in June.



 


  I haven't been idle over the last few weeks though and managed to finish and meet the photo deadline for the Australian Creative Design Awards 2011.
This is a very exciting event and the chosen nominees are subject to hands on judging of their work by three independent judges who each write a critique on the piece  for the benefit of the artist.
 The ACD Awards have attracted entries from around the world and I'm so looking forward to seeing what every one has come up with following this years theme, in honour and celebration of, Beatrix Potter.  All the entries will be up for sale at the 3rd Annual Online Ball starting on June 1st. 
Click on the banner below to find out more about this wonderful event.




Trust you are having a happy and creative week so far!

cheerio for now,

Robyn.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

In my garden this morning

It's a beautiful morning here, 30 degrees C or 85 degrees F depending on your location, a little bit cloudy and a gentle breeze so I took a little stroll around and found we have some lovely flowers blooming even though it is the start of autumn here!

Ixora, the little Sunbirds and butterflys love this

Spider Lily

Golden Penda, this is Cairns floral emblem
Grevillea Fire Fly - more Sunbird food

Native Lilly Pilly

Bromliad - the little lizards enjoy the water well in the center
Another beautiful Bromliad

Ground Orchid


Bush Allamanda
















Which has brought me around to reminding you about the up-coming 'Blooming Bear Show',
there are seventy five Teddy Bear Artists from around the world taking part so it's bound to be a great show for collectors, have a look at the show preview at http://www.teddiesworldwide.com/.

Meet Buttercup who will be at the show too
' with bells on' !!!

Enjoy your weekend!!!

Beary hugs, Robyn.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

After the Valentine

A big thank you to Sandi Smith, Ess D' Ess, for organising another successful  TBACA  Be My Valentine On-Line Show ( the third).  I have this little person still waiting for her lover ... maybe it's you ? You can see her on my web-site now.



Cherie


Thanks Sandi , this was a lot of fun and your hard work, to pull it off,  is well appreciated !!!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Be My Valentine a Sneek Peek



Here is a sneek peek of my three bears who will be ready for adoption at this years third annual TBACA Be My Valentine Online Show. There will be 32 International and Australian artists participating and definitely a show NOT to be missed!  The show will open on Friday 11th February at 8pm Australian Eastern Daylight Saving time, and closes Monday 14th February at 8pm Australian Daylight Saving time.
A little footnote about Cyclone Yasi
Our garden has taken a bruising, but other than that everything else here is intact after cyclone Yasi belted into the Queensland coast with the eye crossing the coast about 150 to 200 kilometers south of us last Wednesday night and rated a category five as it did so.  It is heart breaking to see the damage so many have suffered who were in the direct path of Yasi and it will certainly be a very long recovery road, and some may never recover.  We were very well informed about Yasi  and were preparing three days before the cyclone arrived but nothing can really prepare you for the incredible power a system like that has.  Here's hoping there are no more like that in the pipeline but we have been told we could expect another within the next two months. Miraculously all the little birds are back in business in our garden and the bad weather has brought on a flush of beautiful Birdwing and Ulysses Butterflies !!! Amazing !  we have their caterpillar food plants growing in our garden.


Cairns Birdwing

Ulysses













and thank you to my friends for their kind thoughts and words of support during our Yasi experience.
Beary best wishes, Robyn.